Saturday, September 25, 2010

School Daze

Is it possible that Emily has been in school for FOUR weeks already??? Is it true that Nora, after only three weeks of school, is reading 32 page books out loud? No wonder I haven't had anytime to post!

My initial blissed out, nothing-to-do state of mind has been replaced by a very busy schooling schedule. Busy yes, but totally rewarding. Emily, Nora, and Momma are loving the fall semester.

Emily is still ga-ga with the school bus. She might not be too keen on finishing her juice or getting dressed in the morning, but when I tell her the school bus is coming, she gets ready as fast as a flash. Teeth brushed, hair combed, shoes on, and out the door. My favorite part of the morning is waving good-bye to her, and sometimes she even smiles back at me! She returns home every day with a note from the teacher letting us know how her day went. Those teachers, they think of everything! One of my biggest worries about sending Emily off was that I would lose those hours of her life; after all, there is no way for her to tell me about her day. She still can't talk about anything but the present moment. But I suppose the other kids in her class are the same way, so they have a worksheet that is sent home with all the information about the day's activities. I can find out the name of the songs they sang and the stories they read, it tells me what snack was offered and if Emily ate it, and if she had any additional services like speech or OT. Its great. Emily always comes home with a big smile, and she proudly hangs her artwork on the fridge. In Em's words, "I love it I love it I love it!"

Nora is also in love with school, although getting my little fashionista out the door can be quite the challenge on most mornings. She spends time with her friends Illiana (another fashionista) and Ian (the only boy that can give Miles a run for his money) in between some serious study time. Her ability to read has just flourished over the past three weeks. I swear her sight words have doubled, and she can read long stories like Courdory and Elmo's ABCs with a minimal amount of help. She continues to work on her math skills as well; no kidding, she's learning fractions. At this rate her mathematical prowess will surpass my own by second grade. I wish I had more to say, but I have to rely on Nora to tell me about her day. For whatever reason, she usually "can't remember". Can't remember, or perhaps she's already too cool to want to talk to mom? Sometimes I swear she's already 13. Lucky for me Ian is a talker, and his mom can keep me up-to-date on the kindergarten social scene!

I am also having a pretty good semester. Teaching three classes is a lot of work, but its fun. While the girls are at school Monday through Thursday, I grade and write lectures and upload info to my online course website. While I miss working in the yard, and being in front of a screen for 5 or more hours a day can be torture, having a little extra money roll in is nice. And having a captive audience listen to my tales of the wonders of Ancient Greece and the piety of the Middle Ages isn't too bad either.

We've established a nice routine around here. I don't want to get to attached to it, since these things are always changing, but for now its pretty darn nice.

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